


Aeternitas Enim

by meowvelous



Category: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Genre: F/F, Femslash February, Fix-It-Fic, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-12
Updated: 2013-02-12
Packaged: 2017-11-29 02:18:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/681590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meowvelous/pseuds/meowvelous
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Homura Akemi lives to see the end of the world, and this is how it ends. (Post-episode 12)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Aeternitas Enim

**Author's Note:**

> So most of the stories I've posted thus far on ao3 are about dudes. Which fail to show my keen interest in lesbianism. What better way than writing Madoka Magica fic?
> 
> This was written before I saw any of the movies, and frankly, I think I feel better having this just ignore the movies completely.
> 
> Cheers to vunderpal on tumblr for the beta. C:
> 
> Oh! Also, the title is from Google translate, so take it with a grain of salt.

The life of a magical girl, even without witches, was marked by loss.

Homura kept a tally of them, all of them, heavy in her heart, a reminder of why she continued to fight. The first was Madoka’s, followed by ones she knew more concretely – Sayaka, Kyoko, Mami. The most recent loss was Mitakihara – the entire town, and all who lived within it.

Those to blame were the Wraiths, ever growing in number, and who eventually brought about the end of the world.

* * *

The inherent flaw in the new magical girl design was thus; their lives were finite. There was only so much magic they could use, before they ended. Wraiths, on the other hand, born from despair and hatred, were able to endlessly reproduce. After all, such things were a constant in any human life.

Of course, there was a struggle before the end. Ever growing numbers of magical girls were called up, all over the world, to fight. And it was in the face of continuous defeat that these lives soon diminished, flickering out like the lights in the towns as the buildings collapsed and electrical wires snapped.

All too soon, there was only Homura left, for she was the only one determined enough. How could she not, with a devoted cause and whispers in the wind, reminding her to never give up?

* * *

After the destruction of the town she called home, the place where those she loved lived their lives, the next injury for her heart to bear, was Kyubey abandoning her.

Even with her memories of what once was – Homura had grown to love him. He was her one constant companion, occupying the role usually filled by family. As more and more gaps appeared in her life, Kyubey remained by her side.

Until the day when Homura couldn’t find the next town to travel to, for there was only ruins, vacated by human souls. The Wraiths had lost interest with such places, when there was no more prey for them to hunt. Then Kyubey had jumped off his perch on her shoulder and informed her that the usefulness of her planet was at its end.

Earth was no longer producing a sufficient amount of energy to justify his species’ continued interference, and they had reached their quota, in any case. “Like rats, abandoning a sinking ship,” she had accused him, but he shrugged it off, forever unimpressed by displays of human emotion, and bade her goodbye.

Then, his body collapsed and Homura was left staring horrified down into its lifeless eyes.

* * *

Soon, living and fighting began to feel more like simply surviving.

While her weapon was powered by her own magic, needing no physical ammunition, and her clothes were maintained by that same power, there were other necessities. Food, water, sleep. Scavenging and rationing took care of the first two needs, but the third was more difficult.

Homura submitted to sleep as a last resort, for a few fitful hours at a time. There was no one to keep watch for her (except, sometimes, a soft imagined touch on her shoulder and a gentle voice in her ear, telling her that it was time to move on).

Pre-war human production ensured that there would be supplies, for numerous years to come, even if access to them grew more difficult as the cities became more overgrown. It was always the human element that failed, collapsing under its own weight when it could no longer sustain itself.

* * *

The truth is as follows; all lives must come to an end. For magical girls, this end was much closer, a visible finish line.

And Homura, for all her exceptional will and power and belief – was still just a magical girl.

* * *

She could see her own timeline closing. As Homura lost interest in keeping herself fed, as she won her battles by an ever slimmer margin of success – oh, she still believed, and kept doubt and despair out of her heart. But nothing could last forever.

The amount of Wraiths were declining too; with humans gone, there was no one to create new ones. Now, with a limited number, Homura could whittle it down.

For being the last magical girl – Homura was not the last human on Earth. That title went to whoever had been the final civilian to perish, as the last (settlement, village, town, city) shelter crumbled. As her powers swelled with her determination, forming into unholy black wings that spoke with the voices of witches that were no more, her humanity grew ever distant than it had been before.

Homura wondered if that was how Madoka felt, during her transformation.

* * *

The final battle led to the end of both life-forms, Wraiths, and magical girls.

Alone, drained, Homura sat in a crater she created, within a wasteland constructed by Wraiths. She smiled, closed her eyes, and began to cry, because she knew that her magic had been used up, and her soul gem was crumbling into dust, that she was going to die.

Her consciousness faded, replaced with a warm glowing light that surrounded her.

Opening her eyes, she saw Madoka as she last remembered her, with her flowing white dress and hair. Homura cried even harder as she felt hands gently touch her cheeks, and saw Madoka’s smile. “It’s okay. You can stop fighting now. I’m so proud of you,” Madoka told her, drawing Homura in and holding her close.

“Please don’t make me leave you again,” Homura begged as she clung to her, grip growing ever tighter.

“No, you can stay, this time.” The promised as sealed by the hand stroking through Homura’s hair, and the returned embrace.

At first, Madoka drawing back felt like losing her all over again, but when their lips met, it was like a star burst in Homura’s chest, bright and warm and slightly painful in its beauty. There were still tears in her eyes, but Homura had to laugh, just because she was so happy, overflowing with it.

Still smiling radiantly, Madoka brushed away the remaining tears, and leaned in again; this time she spoke, soothingly and softly, about love and cherishment.

When they embraced again, glowing ever brighter, Homura leaving her body behind and Madoka’s disappearing as she once again became something more, something higher – their presence in the galaxy was marked by a nebula, woven of pinks and purples, a constant in every universe that was and would ever be.


End file.
